Into the Depths of Hades
by Pixie Faolan
Summary: Sakura Haruno has just found out that she is the daughter of Hades. And to top that off, her mom has been kidnapped by Zeus, she's falling in love with a son of Ares, and all the Greek Gods think she stole Zeus' master bolt. Gods Help Her.
1. Chapter 1

**I know, I've not had nearly any time to update my existing stories, yet I have time to post a new one? Really? Well, honestly this thing has been sitting just waiting to be posted for several months now and I'm simply finally getting around to posting it. I will say that updates will be slow for everything both new and old. I've been extremely busy this year with my summer mission trip and now being nearly three months into my Senior year in high school. Between AP classes, Choir, Debate, and Art competitions, I have little to no time for writing, but I haven't forgotten about my fanfictions, I'll update as often as I can.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters or ideas associated with it. I also do not own the Greek pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, obviously, and I do not own the Percy Jackson series from which the inspiration for this story was drawn.**

**Enough of my overly long A/N…enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block.**

Into the Depths of Hades

A Naruto Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)

Chapter One

If you were to ask someone which God out of the Big Three is their favorite, very few people would say Hades. I have no choice in the matter; after all, he is my dad. I didn't always know I was a demigoddess; my mother hid who I was from everyone, even from me. She married an abusive man to mask the scent of my blood from all the other Olympians and their servants. I grew up not knowing who my father was and getting beaten bloody for the slightest of mistakes. You would never guess that I was the daughter of Hades by looking at me though; pink hair doesn't necessarily scream Demigoddess of the Underworld.

All I really know is that I _never_ asked to be this, hell, all I wanted was to know who my dad is and why the hell the friggin creatures out of ancient Greek _myths_ were attacking me. Come to find out that not only am I the Daughter of Hades and the Demigoddess of the Underworld, but my existence alone is cause for war between the Gods. Then the fact that everyone and their brother thought I stole Zeus' Master Bolt just added fuel to the fire. It didn't matter that my brother was the son of Poseidon and this kid I had just met turned out to be my cousin, the son of Zeus. It just mattered that everyone thought that I had stolen the bolt, Zeus had my mom held hostage, and I was stuck in a war that was bigger than me, my brother, my cousin and pretty much the entire world, and it wasn't even about the whole stolen bolt accusation. No, it was dear old Granddad wanting to get the fuck out of Tartarus. Gods help me.

I groaned as I slowly slid into consciousness. I felt like I had been hit by a semi. I rose painfully from my bed and stumbled, bleary eyed, to the bathroom. I groaned at my reflection. My pink hair was matted with blood and a large cut slashed its way down the right side of my face, from hairline to chin. It was surrounded by dried blood. A nasty hand shaped bruise had blossomed across my neck. My lip was busted, and my left shoulder was bruised and swollen, it looked dislocated. Whatever I had done to piss off my stepdad, Oniji, must have really pissed him off bad. I sighed and turned the shower on as hot as possible. I stripped quickly, wincing as I jostled my left arm, and stepped under the scalding stream. The water turned a rusty brown as soon as it hit me. I leaned back against the cool tile wall and braced myself before wrenching my shoulder back into socket. I bit my lip to hold in a scream. The action caused my busted lip to rip open. Blood began pouring from the wound and I pulled it into my mouth, sucking at it. The blood was salty, yet sweet, with a coppery tang, it tasted really good, but I knew I had to stop sucking the blood out and let it clot again. I filled my palm with cinnamon scented shampoo and began washing my hair, wincing as it pulled at the bloody, matted clumps. I rinsed my hair and washed it again, making sure it was completely rid of blood. Then I conditioned it with cinnamon scented conditioner to smooth it out. I washed the blood from my body and face, being gentle around the cuts and my bruised neck and shoulder. I winced as a sharp pain shot up my side as I washed my middle. My ribs were on fire. I rinsed off quickly and stepped out of the shower, gingerly wrapping a blood red towel around my dripping form. Now that I was clean, the bruises stood out in stark comparison to my alabaster skin. I dried myself off gingerly and set the towel to the side, examining myself for any further damage. My midsection was mottled with bruises in varying shades of purple, black, and blue. There was another hand shaped bruise on my left calf, as well as a mirrored image on my right thigh. I sighed and wrapped the towel back around myself. I walked slowly back into my room and pulled out an outfit to wear to school. I pulled a simple pair of black jeans with large rips in the knees on over my black underwear and a faded black ribbed tank top over my black bra. Over the tank top I put an off the shoulder red fishnet shirt that went down to my knuckles. Satisfied with my appearance I threw my dirty clothes and towel into the hamper in my closet and made my way back to my bathroom to hide the visible bruises with makeup. After ten years of covering up the evidence of the many beatings, I had become somewhat of an expert and after three minutes I looked as right as rain. I put on my necklace, a scythe charm hanging from a short silver chain. I also put in my tongue bar and the industrials through the cartilage of each ear. Pentagrams dangled from the onyx studs in the bottom lobe piercing of each ear, and just above them, sat ruby studs. A black captive bead ring adorned the tragus piercing in my left ear. I dried my long, mid back length pink hair and styled it. My fringe angling from the left to the right, making sure that not even a hint of my right eye or the scratch marring that side of my face could be seen while the rest hung long and straight to the middle of my back. The tips of my long hair had been dyed to look as if they had been dipped in ink, as did my fringe. My emerald green eyes glowed brightly from my alabaster skin, and after I had lined them thickly with black eyeliner, they stood out even more. I brushed my teeth quickly and smiled slightly at my reflection. I shook my head, to this day it still amazed me how any of my friends could seriously believe this god forsaken mask that I wear every day. My mom can see through it, but she also knows what goes on. My eyes lacked the spark of joyfulness that lit my eyes when I was a child, my smile wasn't as wide, nor did it reach my eyes. If the eyes are truly the windows to the soul, I must not have one, because if I did people would see how broken I really am from just a simple glance. But no one sees what is right in front of their eyes, or maybe they just don't care, I haven't figured it out yet.

I sighed as I left the room, scooping up my cell phone, wallet, iPod, and backpack as I did. I put my wallet in my back pocket and my phone and iPod into my front pockets as I hurried down the stairs, trying my hardest not to wake Oniji. I slung my backpack up onto my uninjured shoulder as I stepped into the hallway. I could hear my mom, Hotaru, bustling around the kitchen, making sure everything would be perfect when Oniji finally decided to wake up. My mom was a beautiful woman; I get my eyes from her, except mine are brighter and more feline. She was short, barely more than five feet, and had long silver hair that fell in soft, rippling waves to the backs of her knees. I've often wondered where I got my pink hair from, but I've never really asked, it never seemed necessary to know how I got pink hair. All I needed to know was that my hair was pink and anyone who thought it wasn't natural met my fist up close and personal. When she smiled, it lit up her whole face, her eyes glowed and her cheeks dimpled, but she rarely smiled anymore. Her laugh was light and bubbly, like water flowing over stones in a babbling brook. I used to love to hear her laugh, now I'd do anything to hear it again, she hasn't laughed for so long. She seemed to be as broken as me, but I've never brought it up, that would only make things worse.

"Mom, tell me again why we put up with him?" I asked, wincing as I formed the words, the movement of my mouth pulling at the cut, I'd have to stitch it up later.

"Oh, baby, did he hurt you again?" She was by my side in a heartbeat, checking for wounds.

"It's nothing mom, just a few bruises." I lied; I didn't want to tell her that it was more like a few bruises, cracked ribs, and a giant cut. She looked at me hard for a moment, but since she didn't see anything to say any different, she backed off.

"Okay, what would you like for breakfast, Sakura honey?" She asked, returning to the stove.

"I think I'll just have a bowl of cereal at school or something. I only have ten minutes before the bus gets here." I said. She nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you when you get home." She said, turning and giving me a hug. I held back the wince as she squeezed my sore shoulder. I grabbed my keys and shoved them in my pocket as I hurried out the door and down the road to the bus stop. I made it just in time. I climbed on to the large yellow automobile and took a seat in the very back next to a very busty blonde senior, my best and only friend at Konoha Prep.

"Hey Reaper, how are you?" She asked, turning her hazel eyed gaze on me as I sat next to her. I grimaced.

"Not good, Tsunade," I replied, "He did it again."

"Have you told your mom yet?" She asked sympathetically. She was the only person in the world who knew everything that he did to me. She always fixed me up too. I shook my head.

"You know I can't tell her everything. She'd be devastated. I know she's only putting up with him so that we have a roof over our heads and food in the fridge, but still she'd blame herself if she knew, and I won't put her through that." I said, wincing as my cut stretched.

"How bad?" She asked.

"A few cracked ribs, several bruises, I popped my shoulder back into place this morning, and I cleaned up the cut on my face the best I could. I'll just tell people that I busted my lip by running into something or biting it." I answered. She sighed.

"I'll fix you up as best I can in the nurse's office when we get to school." She said. Tsunade was a Teacher's Assistant for Nurse Shizune, and most of her day was spent in there, answering phones or tending to sick kids. She was planning on majoring in medicine and becoming a doctor when she graduates.

"Thanks, Tsunade; I don't know what I'd do without you." I breathed. She nodded. As soon as the bus shuddered to a stop, she had pulled me to my feet and was dragging me off the bus and into the nurse's office. She pushed me down onto one of the paper covered cots.

"Okay, I'm sure your shoulder is fine, you're excellent with dislocations. The bruises should be fine as well. I'll do a surface check on your ribs and stitch up the cut on your face." She said, going into business mode. She began prodding gently at my ribs, moving from the bottom to the top on one side before repeating it on the other. I winced at each poke, and held back a scream as she pressed on my top right rib.

"Nothing is broken, thankfully, they aren't even cracked. Just extensive bruising, it will hurt for a while, but you heal fast. Now, let me see that cut." She said. I held my fringe off to the side. She hissed in a breath.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard!" She seethed. She grabbed a needle and some stitching thread and looked at me apologetically.

"We don't have any anesthetic here so you'll just have to grin and bear it." She said. I grimaced and nodded, steeling myself for the pain. She approached and stitched up the cut. I felt as fresh blood started to trickle from the wound, but she stopped it with gauze. Finally, she tied off the stitch.

"I'll take it out in a few days. Make sure to keep it well covered until then; I doubt you could find a plausible excuse for a cut like that. Hopefully it won't scar." She said.

"Well, if it does scar, it will look damn cool." I said with a smirk. She shook her head at me.

"You amaze me Sakura Haruno." She laughed.

"C'mon, we're gonna be late for class." I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her behind me to the only class we had together, Ancient Greek Mythology.

We took our seats next to the large window that overlooked the school gardens and waited for our teacher, Kurenai, to come in. She didn't. Instead a young woman with bright red hair that had long pin straight hair on one side of her head while the other looked like she had lost a fight with a lawn mower. Her red eyes were framed by thick rimmed glasses. She smiled widely at us all, I scoffed at how fake and plastic it was.

"Hello class, I'm Karin and I will be your substitute teacher for Ancient Greek Mythology. Kurenai is out due to family reasons and will be back at the end of the week." She said, her voice high, nasally, and utterly annoying. I groaned. I heard Tsunade chuckle at my reaction.

"I know what you mean, Reaper." She laughed quietly. I smirked.

"All right, today we will be learning about Furies. Can anyone tell me what a Fury is?" She asked in her sickly sweet voice. Several hands shot up and Tsunade and I just sat there staring at the board. I stared hard at the words that had been written there, it all looked like Greek to me.

"Sakura, how about you, what is a Fury?" She asked, turning her red eyed gaze to me. I was silent for a moment, contemplating whether or not to give her an answer.

"Furies, also known as Erinyes in Greek Mythology, were winged, female deities of vengeance. There has been much confusion over their appearance, as some depict them as beautiful women with the wings of birds, while others have depicted them as having the wings of bats, eyes that dripped with blood, and heads that were crowned with snakes." I said finally. She nodded thoughtfully.

"Very good, Ms. Haruno, you know your mythological creatures. But do you know their names?" She said her voice grating at my ears. I sighed.

"Yes, Alecto, Mageara, and Tisiphone. Those are the three originally recognized by Virgil." I said, utterly bored. She seemed slightly put out. She must've wanted to point out that I was wrong. Stupid woman. The class went on, but I tuned it out, only returning my mind to the classroom when I heard the loud trill of the bell. I stood quickly and followed Tsunade from the room. We said our goodbyes as we passed the nurse's office. I continued on to my next class, Ancient Civilizations. I sighed as I took my seat next to the window. I really hated Ancient Civ. class, it was so utterly pointless. I watched as the rest of the class filed in and took their seats. Some glared at me and some ignored me altogether. I always wondered why so many of the students at this school hated me. But then I realize that I didn't even care. The rest of the day went by as a blur; I was shocked from my daydreams in history class as the last bell of the day rang. I went to my locker and put my books into it before fighting my way through the herd of students exiting the school. I stepped onto my bus and made my way back to my usual seat next to Tsunade.

"See you tomorrow, Reaper, don't forget about the field trip." She said as we pulled up to my stop. I smiled and nodded before making my way back up the aisle and out onto the street. I sped off down the road in the direction of my house, hoping that Oniji had already left for work. My hopes were destroyed as I stopped in front of our house; his car was still in the drive. I dreaded walking in. I took a deep breath and steeled myself for Oniji's imminent tirade. As soon as I stepped through the front door, something seemed off.

"Mom?" I called quietly through the house.

"In the kitchen, dear." She said tiredly. I made my way to the kitchen and found her set up painting near the kitchen window.

"Where's Oniji?" I asked her warily. She only painted like that when something was bothering her.

"Oh he's still sleeping." She said with a sigh.

"Doesn't he have to be at work soon?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." She said, returning to her painting.

"Momma, please, why do we put up with this slob, he's disgusting. He sleeps all the time, eats like a pig, almost never bathes, and drinks enough for an army of dehydrated soldiers; he barely even pays the bills. Most of his money goes toward alcohol and cigarettes." I asked. She sighed again.

"You said it would get better if we came here, it's done nothing but get worse." I said.

"You'll understand soon, Sakura-chan." She said.

"How soon is soon, mom, you said the same thing last time." I replied. Oniji chose that moment to make his presence known. His stench preceded him into the room and I fought the urge to gag.

"Look who's decided to join the living." I said, venom laced into every word. He shot me a glare. I smirked at him and met his gaze evenly, defiantly. He walked over and groped my mom's ass, infuriating me.

"Hey, babe, get me a beer." He commanded. My mom moved to do what he asked; he smacked her ass as she went. I growled low in my throat.

"Hey, Oniji, have some respect, don't treat my mom like she's your fucking maid, she's not." I hissed. He glared at me harshly and within minutes had me pinned to the wall by my throat.

"This is _my_ house, and _I_ am the man in this family, and I will gladly prove it to you if you provoke me like that again." He hissed in my ear. He made sure my mom was occupied before he ground into me, pressing his hardness against me and making sure I knew exactly what he meant. A sick grin twisted his face as my expression morphed into one of utter disgust. I growled lowly at him. He backed away slowly. I glared as he walked away to sit at the kitchen table where my mom placed a beer in front of him. He drank the beer slowly, and watched me over the top of the bottle as I left the room and ran up the stairs two at a time. I ran into my room and slammed the door shut, leaning against it and breathing heavily. I dropped my bag to the floor and locked my door before sliding down it. I cradled my head in my hands, my fingers twisting into my black and pink locks. I groaned. I wanted to scream in frustration. His abuse was boundless, I couldn't imagine what had possessed my mother to marry such a sick, twisted, bastard. She loved my father, she told me so, she loved him with every fiber of her being, and she told me that he had loved me more than life itself but had been forced to leave us both by his family. I couldn't understand it and I don't think that I ever will. I wouldn't have to deal with this endless torment if he hadn't left us.

The next day was slightly better; at least I didn't start off by cleaning up new wounds. Oniji had had to work last night and had been out instead of torturing me. Sadly, he would be there all night tonight, since he had the day off. I dressed quickly after my shower, pulling on a pair of short shorts that were cut off at mid thigh and were riddled with rips and tears. I pulled on a tight fitting, faded black Bullet for My Valentine ribbed tank top that stopped several inches above my pierced navel. I never did care that everything in my wardrobe violated every one of the schools dress code policies. I belted the shorts low on my hips with a black and red studded belt with a scythe belt buckle. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth before putting on my makeup. I made sure all of my remaining bruises that were visible were expertly covered with makeup so they could no longer be seen. I lined my eyes with thick black eyeliner to bring out their vibrant color. Then I ran Chap Stick over my lips. I pulled my long hair back and braided it, leaving only my fringe to hang diagonally in front of my face, hiding the right side from view. I left the room and pulled on my worn out black converse and laced up the bright cherry red laces. Pleased with my appearance I shoved my phone and MP3 player into my pockets along with my keys and wallet. I grabbed my backpack on my way out of the room. I took the stairs two at a time and grabbed a granola bar as I ran through the kitchen. I had no time for a real breakfast, I was late. I raced out of the house, slamming the door behind me and speeding off down the sidewalk, just barely catching my bus. I sat down with a thud next to Tsunade, breathing heavily.

"Wake up late again, Reaper?" She asked, holding back a laugh. I glared at her.

"What if I did, I was up late last night." I replied. She shook her head.

"At least all we have today is that field trip for Asuma and Karin." She said.

"Yeah, but I still really hate Karin." I said, she laughed. All too soon we were pulling to a stop in front of the school. We all filed out and went straight to our Greek Mythology classroom where both Karin and Asuma waited for us. They waited until everyone was in the room before addressing us.

"Today we will be going to the new Greek exhibit at the Konoha Museum of History. You will be required to stay with the group at all times. We will be studying the Greek Gods and their descendents, as well as the history behind the Greek Gods." Asuma said, the cigarette dangling precariously from his lips quivered with every word. We all nodded in understanding.

"All school rules apply, that means no electronic devices in sight or they _will be_ confiscated. Do I make myself clear?" Asuma said, voice firm and commanding. It was a voice that even though he was in a wheelchair, made you think twice about disobeying him. Once both teachers were sure we thoroughly understood the ground rules they led us from the room and we filed onto a school bus. The ride was short, the museum was downtown Konoha, just thirty minutes away from Konoha Prep. We all filed out and were led into the museum. Asuma led us to the first exhibit. It was huge; there were large stone slabs with images and ancient Greek lettering carved into them. There were three of these arranged in a semicircle. Asuma stood in the middle of the room, with the three slabs behind him. The rest of us stood facing him in a semicircle, attention trained solely on him as he began to speak. Karin was standing back near Tsunade and I.

"Now, how much do you know about the Greek Gods?" Asuma asked in his booming voice. He was met with silence, no one wanted to answer, but most knew he wasn't looking for an answer.

"The three main Greek Gods were the brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the sons of Cronus. They took the throne by overthrowing their father and cutting him into millions of pieces before sealing him away in Tartarus for eternity. The three Gods then split their rule, Hades became the ruler of the underworld and guardian of Cronus' prison, Poseidon became the ruler of the sea and the earth, and Zeus became the king of Gods. Now, occasionally the Gods would come to earth and hook up with humans, producing half human half god children, does anyone know what these children were known as?" Asuma said, "How about you, Sakura."

"Uh, demigods." I said, startled by the abrupt question.

"Good, and do you know of any demigods besides Hercules?" He asked. I was at a loss; I glanced around the room at the slabs. The symbols that were carved in Ancient Greek began to morph and change shape, to look like English. I could read it.

"Uh, Perseus." I said, unsurely, reading a name from one of the slabs.

"Very good, Perseus was a very well known son of Poseidon." Asuma said. He looked at me knowingly, and I found myself wondering why.

"Sakura, could I have a word?" Karin asked from behind me. I nodded slowly and followed her to a room just off the room we were in. I heard the door click shut behind her.

"So, Karin-sensei, did I do something wrong? Am I in trouble?" I asked turning to face her, only, she wasn't there anymore.

"Sakura Haruno." A voiced hissed from high above me. I looked up and gasped.

"Karin-sensei? How'd you…" I trailed off as she screeched at me. The sound was inhuman. Within seconds it was like she had exploded from her skin, now standing in her place, was the most hideous thing I had ever seen. It was large and beastly with smooth grey skin and eyes that dripped with the blood, bat wings sprung from the creature's back.

"What are you?" I whispered. The thing flew at me and I ducked. Just as the thing was about to charge at me again, the door burst open. I looked to see Tsunade run in, fists raised, followed by Asuma-sensei.

"Fury!" I heard Asuma shout.

"You leave her alone you bitch!" Tsunade yelled at the thing.

"I'll rip you apart if you even think of touching the girl, leave now, Fury." Asuma yelled. The creature screeched at me one more time before flying through one of the many windows in the room.

"That was a…a Fury? They exist?" I asked, shocked, "And how would you have torn her apart Asuma-sensei, you're in a wheelchair."

"There are many things you don't know, Sakura, but you will learn. Take this," He said, holding something out to me, "It is a powerful weapon, use it only when the need is great."

I looked at the thing he was holding out to me.

"That's just a pen." I said with a perfectly arched eyebrow.

"Take it, Reaper, you'll need it." Tsunade said, and I grabbed it.

"But this is a pen! How is this gonna help me, am I gonna write it to sleep or something?" I asked. They ignored me.

"Take her home and inform her mother. There is no where safe for her now, they know who she is. You know where she needs to go." Asuma said. Tsunade nodded and grabbed me by the arm dragging me from the room and out of the museum.

"What is going on, Tsunade?" I asked as she dragged me down the street in the direction of my house, luckily it wasn't too far from the museum. We made it to my house mere minutes after she dragged me out of the museum and I unlocked the door. We both stepped in and found my mom playing waitress to Oniji and some of his poker buddies. They were all obviously drunk. I watched Oniji slap my mom's ass.

"Hey, didn't I tell you to have some fucking respect for my mom?" I asked completely annoyed. He stood and went to smack me but was punched in the face by Tsunade. He hit the ground and was out cold. The other men were too stunned to move.

"Hotaru, it's time." Tsunade said. My mom seemed to know what she meant, and she led us out the door and into her purple Dodge Charger. We sped off down the road, out of Konoha, and through the vast Konoha woods that kept our city isolated from the city of Suna in the deserts of Wind Country. We drove deep into the woods, their darkness looming on either side of the wide highway. My mind was reeling.

"Do either of you feel like telling me what the hell is going on?" I asked from my seat. My mom glanced at me with a sad smile on her face.

"It's about your father, and who he is." She said. My eyes widened.

"My dad, what about my dad could possibly cause what has happened to me so far?" I asked, incredulous.

"Your father isn't human, you're a demigoddess, and Tsunade is your protector, she is also a demigoddess, a daughter of Apollo." My mother explained.

"Then who's my dad?" I asked.

"Your dad is…"My mom's reply was cut off when something came barreling out of the forest and rammed into our car, turning it over. Tsunade punched out of the car and pulled us out. I found myself staring in disbelief at a creature I thought lived only in myth. There in front of me stood a ten foot tall Minotaur. I held back a scream.

"Run!" Tsunade yelled. She led us deep into the woods. I don't know how long we ran, or how far, but we were deep into the Konoha Forest. I was beginning to see why it was known to most people as the Forest of Death. We stopped in front of a tall archway that seemed to be formed by two trees; a wooden plank was nailed to them bearing words written in Ancient Greek. As I stared the words slowly started to morph, shimmering into English text. It said, Camp Half-Blood. Tsunade and I raced through with no problem, but my mother could not pass through the natural archway. Some sort of barrier stopped her from reaching us. The Minotaur grew bigger, looming like an ominous shadow behind her small frame.

"Mom, come on!" I all but screamed. She shook her head sadly.

"I can go no further, darling, this is no place for mortals, I am not allowed." She turned to leave and screamed as she came face to face with the Minotaur. My eyes widened and before I knew I had moved, I was back on the other side of the archway and demanding that the Minotaur leave my mom alone. It looked down it's snout at me and snorted, as if saying that I wasn't even worth his time. I felt anger rise in me like a wildfire, heat rising through my body, starting at my toes and slowly moving upward. I pulled the pen from my back pocket and stared at it for a moment, wondering how I was supposed to use it.

"**All is not what it seems, Sakura, trust your instincts, you know what to do."** I heard a deep, masculine voice; I looked around wildly for its source but found none. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere, it boomed in my mind. I found myself left even more puzzled than I had been before my mind had been intruded by that strange voice. Not knowing what else to do, I clicked the pen and held in a gasp as it lengthened into a full length silver sword.

"Let my mom go!" I screamed. The beast dropped her to the ground and charged at me. I swung and missed, the sword embedding itself deep into the wood of a nearby tree. I tried frantically to pull it out to no avail. The creature returned its attention to my mom. He picked her up, almost crushing her in his large grip. He squeezed tighter and tighter as she groaned. Right before my eyes she disappeared in a puff of shimmering golden dust. I felt the anger rise higher, hotter, as the creature looked at me. His eyes seemed to be laughing at me. I felt tears of rage streaming down my face. I pulled the sword from the tree with a shout and swung wildly at the Minotaur. He charged at me and my blade made contact with one of his horns, sending him reeling off course and crashing into a tree. The wood groaned in protest at the force of the impact, the beast's horn was caught in the wood. I growled and jabbed with the sword, the sort of underhanded jab that you would perform when using a switch blade. I felt skin and bone give under the force of the blow, heard the sound of slick metal sliding through flesh and cutting bone. The beast cried out in pain, but the fierce lowing sound cut off into a strangled cry as the blade pierced his heart and his lungs began to fill with blood. He took his last few rasping breaths and then was still. I pulled the blade out and it returned to its original form, a small pen. I looked around myself as if I was waking from a dream. I felt so lightheaded. I distantly felt Tsunade grab my arm and lead me once more through the archway.

"Did I kill it?" I asked, hardly aware of my surroundings.

"Yeah, Reaper, you did great girl, really great. Now you need to rest, we'll explain everything when you wake up." She said in a calm, soothing voice.

"Yeah, you better; there is _no_ way you're getting away without explaining everything to me. I just killed a fucking Minotaur for the love of the Gods! They aren't even supposed to exist!" I said, my words slurring as I slowly faded from consciousness. I leaned heavily on Tsunade as she led me through trees and bushes, our footsteps making no sound on the soft, leaf strewn forest floor. Then everything went black.

**Again I promise that I haven't forgotten, I've just been quite busy. As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do.**

**~Shadow Wolf (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thankfully, this update was pretty quick considering that I've already gotten several chapters written to prevent to the best of my abilities the threat of month long waiting periods for updates.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters or ideas associated with it. I also do not own the Greek pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, obviously, and I do not own the Percy Jackson series from which the inspiration for this story was drawn.**

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block.**

Into the Depths of Hades

A Naruto Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)

Chapter Two

I heard the sound of many voices as I slowly drifted in and out of consciousness. I heard the ringing of metal on metal in the distance and offhandedly wondered what the hell it was. I was on a low cot of some sort, and I heard the sighs and groans of other people around me, wherever I was. I heard movement to my left and my eyes snapped open, pinning the person under my intense emerald gaze.

"Tsunade, where the hell am I?" I asked. Memories of last night were slowly flooding my mind.

"You're in the infirmary at Camp Half-Blood." Tsunade replied, "And yes what you think happened did in fact happen. You've been knocked out for three days."

"Three days!" I exclaimed, "You better start explaining, and I mean now!"

Tsunade nodded. I moved slowly, my muscles sore and stiff from three days of lying in a bed. I stood and Tsunade led me from the room. We stepped out into a wide open camp that looked as if it had been taken from an ancient Greek battlefield.

"Wow." I breathed.

"Yeah, it's quite the shocker when you see it the first time, I was just a baby when I was brought here; my human mother had died in childbirth so Apollo brought me here to be looked after. I chose to become a healer and a protector when I became old enough to leave. When we learned of your existence from your father, I immediately volunteered to be your protector; I wanted to see what it was like on the outside world. To see what it was like to go to a normal school." She said. I looked around me in awe. In front of us, lines of archers were taking aim at targets placed at least fifty yards away. Teenagers in armor were running across the grounds, going to and from cabin like buildings spread throughout the clearing. I glanced off to the right, and saw a thick line of trees; the darkness clung to the edges, hiding beneath the trees, creating a barrier between the bright, open clearing and the close, dark Forest of Death. I could just make out the outline of the archway we had come through to get here off in the distance, shadowed in the darkness of the trees. We walked in front of the archers and Tsunade yelled at them to watch out as they took aim, almost hitting me with an arrow.

"Watch it with the arrows, we got new blood." She yelled at them. They lowered their bows instantly in respect. I followed behind her as she led me through the grounds.

"This is where most of the battle training will take place." She said motioning to a wide, flat expanse of grassland, bordered on one side by a large lake. There were groups of armor clad teenagers bearing swords and other weapons fighting with each other in earnest, but stopping just before striking their opponents with the sharp edges of their weapons.

I saw one boy with flaming red hair who looked to be my age and was clad in armor the color of dried blood sparring with two people, one a boy that looked just a year or two older with brown hair and purple face paint wearing black armor, the other was a girl with sandy blonde hair held up in four spiky pigtails, her armor was silver and purple. She looked to be about Tsunade's age.

"Who's that?" I asked pointing to the red head. He was an amazing fighter. His opponents were barely causing him to try; he parried or dodged every blow, using the force of their own momentum to knock them off balance. He beat them quickly, before they began to fight again.

"That's Gaara and his two siblings, Temari and Kankuro, they've been here for years, Gaara grew up here, Temari was two when they were brought here, Kankuro only one and Gaara was a newborn. They are the children of Ares, the God of War and Bloodshed. They're all fierce warriors, way out of your league, for now. Soon you will even be able to defeat them." Tsunade said, "Now hurry up, I've got someone I want you to meet."

I followed her as she raced away from the training field. She stopped abruptly at the edge of a small cliff overlooking the sandy beach and the water's edge. I heard the thundering of many sets of hooves approaching and gasped at what I saw. A large herd of Centaurs were running along the beach. I thought I recognized one of them.

"Come on!" Tsunade urged, grabbing my wrist and dragging me down a narrow path down the cliff. The centaur in the front galloped towards us. I gasped at who it was.

"Asuma-sensei? How-what…huh?" I stumbled over my words in my shock. Asuma laughed, a deep sound.

"I apologize for hiding my true self from you, but you must understand, you could know nothing of the world to which you truly belong until it was completely necessary." He said, the apology clear in his tone of voice and the expression that reached his eyes. I smiled.

"Who exactly am I though?" I asked, looking down. He put a hand under my chin and forced me to look at him.

"You are a very powerful young woman, Sakura Haruno. You are a daughter of one of the Big Three, Hades is your father. You are the Demigoddess of the Underworld." He said. My mouth fell open. I was the daughter of Hades? I could barely believe it.

"No way! Hades! There's got to be a mistake, I'm nothing special. I'm smart, and I can hold my own in a fight, but I'm no hero." I said, still racked with shock.

"No, you aren't a hero, not yet anyway. But you will be, with a little training, you could be great. You are more powerful than any demigoddess in this camp, I have never felt such power from someone as untrained as you, you will be great once we have honed your abilities." Asuma said, a proud tinge to his voice. I smiled.

"Follow me; there is something I want to show you." Asuma said, walking off towards the training field. The field was almost deserted as we walked through close to the shore of the lake; the only people there were the Children of Ares. They were still sparing with each other mercilessly. The red head locked eyes with me as I passed, I almost got lost in the myriad of emotions swirling in their jade depths.

"Where are we going, Asuma-sensei?" I asked as we walked along the edge of the water, heading towards the forest. There was a line of cypress trees along the water. A lone weeping willow that looked like it had been there for centuries stood in their midst just past the edge of the woods. I thought I could make out the shape of a building nestled next to the willow, among the oaks and cypress trees. He didn't answer until we got closer. He pointed to the building in the forest.

"You see that, your father built that just after you were born. It has stood here untouched by time, waiting for you to come." Asuma said.

There was a narrow path lined by rocks leading through the trees and up to the front door. It was a simple slate stone cottage with a slate shingled roof. The door was cherry wood with a stained glass window depicting the Helm of Darkness in varying shades of red. The windows were clear glass, but were covered by thick black drapes that looked to be velvet, at least that I could tell from the outside.

I went inside and was shocked by what I saw. It had a full kitchen with black granite counter tops and a slate topped table with black chairs. It had a gas stove, and a large chrome double sink with chrome fixtures. A high definition plasma screen television took up almost an entire wall in the living room, with a black leather sectional placed in front of it. A surround sound DVD player and an Xbox 360 were hooked up to the TV. A large, ornate slate fireplace took up residence on the wall adjacent to the TV. The mantle was a large slab of black granite held up by wrought iron supports. A bident made of black iron rested on it. Twin katana, their hilts wrapped in red and black silk were hung on the wall forming an 'X'. Tassels hung from each of the hilts, a ruby eyed skull at the end of each.

There were two doors down the hall, one on the right side and one at the very end. The one on the right was a large bathroom with a whirlpool Jacuzzi and separate shower. A large mirror took up most of the wall above the black granite topped vanity and slate sink.

The door at the very end of the hall opened up into a large bedroom. A Queen sized bed was on the wall directly in front of the door, dressed in black and red silk. Black end tables rested on either side of the bed, with a wrought iron lamp on each one. The lampshades were red with black designs that swirled across the surface like shadows. A black writing desk and chair rested on the right wall, and a long, low black dresser rested below the black velvet drape covered window on the left wall. The window was very large, and took up over half of the wall.

"Wow, my dad built this for me?" I asked, completely awed. Asuma nodded.

"Yes, he did. As soon as he had seen you and was forced to leave both you and your mother, he came here and built this for you. He also requested a protector for you. He cares for you so much. I could see how much it hurt him to leave you and your mom." Asuma said.

"Wow, but isn't it, like, cause for war for me to even exist?" I said quietly, still shocked.

"Yes, but Zeus and Poseidon have already broken the pact, none have kept true to the promise made so long ago. Now, we must introduce you to the camp and get you started right away." Asuma said, leading us back to the main area of the camp.

"Okay, but can I have something other than a sword, I prefer sais, I know how to fight with them." I asked as we approached a large group of armed demigods and demigoddesses. He gave a slight nod in my direction. I thanked him. I saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye and saw that Gaara and his siblings were standing at the front of a large group of people. Each of them had a helmet topped with a bright red plume. On the other side, I saw a large multitude of people, headed by a blonde teen about my age with three whisker marks on each cheek. A cheeky grin was plastered on his face and a helmet with a blue plume was clutched in his hands. His eyes were electric blue and glowing like they were made of lightning. We stood in the middle of these two groups, they watched Asuma intently.

"This is Sakura Haruno, and she is in need of a team. Who will take her?" Asuma called out in his deep commanding voice. A murmur went through the crowd; I heard my name whispered over and over.

The blond with the whisker marks stepped forward.

"We'll take her, Asuma-sensei." He said good naturedly, if a bit loud. He seemed very boisterous. His cerulean blue eyes shone with kindness. A man of about twenty one with only one visible eye and gravity defying silver hair stood next to him.

"Thank you, Naruto." Asuma said.

"It's nice to meet ya, Sakura-chan; I'm Naruto Uzumaki, son of Zeus." Naruto said. I smiled at him.

"You too, Naruto-kun, I'm Sakura, Daughter of Hades. Does that make us cousins?" I replied. He thought for a moment and then nodded, grinning excitedly, seemingly unaware of the deep silence that had just settled over the rest of the people in the clearing. I however was all too aware of it.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, Kakashi and I will protect you." Naruto said with a smile, "Do you have a helmet?" I shook my head no.

"Kakashi, get her a helmet, she'll need one." Naruto said. The silver haired man brought me a helmet, I took it gratefully.

"I'm Kakashi, son of Poseidon and Hotaru Haruno." He said. My eyes widened. My mouth popped open.

"Hotaru Haruno was my mom." I said it low and breathy, like I could barely believe it. His one visible eye, the color of a tempestuous sea under steel grey storm clouds, widened fractionally. I heard a soft snort, a barely concealed snicker of amusement. I glanced sharply toward the source of the noise and saw the red haired son of Ares, Gaara, staring intently back at me, a condescending smirk graced his perfectly formed lips and a spark of coldness and barely controlled rage made his vibrant green eyes, only a few shades lighter than mine, glow. I glanced away quickly.

"So, we're half siblings?" Kakashi asked Asuma. He nodded slightly.

"Doesn't that also make us cousins because our dads are brothers?" I asked. Asuma nodded again. Kakashi and I both looked at him, matching looks of skepticism on our faces and one of our eyebrows raised in a perfectly formed arch. We couldn't deny the similarities; he even had mom's hair color.

"You knew didn't you?" We asked simultaneously. He smiled impishly at us and nodded ever so slightly. I growled low in my throat.

"That is not something you keep from people, Asuma-sensei." I hissed, my voice sounding different, like it wasn't me who was speaking. I felt a rumbling growl building in my chest and held it back. People were beginning to stare. I calmed myself.

"We'll talk more about this later; don't we have something to do? And I still need a weapon, Asuma." I said, my voice returning to normal. I was aware of three intense stares trying to bore holes through my skull; I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see the children of Ares staring at me like they were trying to set me on fire.

"Tsunade, go get Sakura her weapon of choice." Asuma said, he glanced at me, "And some armor." I looked down at myself at his comment; I was still wearing the outfit I had put on to go to school a few days before. Short shorts and a tank top could hardly protect me from the blades that I saw each and every one of them carrying, the edges glinted in the sunlight, and they were deadly sharp. These people don't play.

Tsunade nodded and disappeared, running swiftly towards one of the buildings clustered near the infirmary. She came back carrying black leather armor with silver fastenings. A black leather corset with a silver studded buckled front was in her left hand, it looked like it would stop just a few inches above my pierced navel. Black arm bracers that laced up along the bottom of the forearm were clutched in her right hand with red dragons that snaked their way up them, along with a pair of solid black sai, the knuckles wrapped in black leather. They looked sharp and glinted maliciously in the sunlight. A pair of matching dragon adorned greaves was also clutched in her right hand. A leather scale skirt was clutched in her left hand along with the corset, it had a matching red dragon and cross pattern on the front panel of the skirt. She handed all of these things to me and I quickly pulled the armor on over my clothes, surprised by how heavy it all was. For something so small it weighed more than I did. The helmet didn't match, it was the color of tree bark with a brilliant blue plume on the top, it clashed horribly, but it would have to do.

"Alright, are you all set, Sakura?" Asuma asked. I nodded, grabbing the black sai from Tsunade and flicking them around so the needle-like blades were flush against the bracer clad underside of my forearm.

"In that case, get ready teams…Capture the Flag!" Asuma roared. The teams rushed into action.

"Don't worry, Sakura, you'll catch on fast, just stick with Kakashi and I and we'll get ya through, believe it!" Naruto shouted as we raced through the woods.

"So, is this just like normal capture the flag, but with swords?" I asked as we ran, my breath beginning to come in short pants. I was so not used to running with armor.

"Pretty much, and you will get hurt if you end up locked in a fight, we are allowed to draw blood, we just aren't allowed to kill each other. Tsunade is one of the best healers; you could have a fatal wound and live if they get you to Tsunade fast enough.

"Wow." I breathed; I didn't know that at all. The clash of metal on metal could be heard all around us, the sound of its ringing echoed through the forest.

"C'mon, let's search for the flag, the stupid red team's got Ares' kids leading it, they haven't lost in six months. Not since Gaara took over." Naruto grumbled as we weaved through the trees, leaving the main battle behind us. Out of nowhere several red team members jumped down from the trees in a well planned ambush. Weapons clashed as Naruto and Kakashi battled two and three men each. I was running and dodging the fight as best I could, trying my damndest to stay out of their way.

"Go, Sakura, find the flag, we've got this." Kakashi said, while fighting a pretty girl with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail. Her eyes were as blue as a sunlit lake. I nodded and took off running through the trees, heading further and further towards the banks of the lake. The dense mossy ground covering soon gave way to sand and I could hear the water in the distance. I broke through the tree line at a harsh run, dropping to my knees and panting on the bank of the lake. I had to get used to the weight of that damn armor. I ripped the helmet from my head and threw it somewhere behind me, I heard it crash through the leaves and thud dully as it hit a tree trunk. I reached my hands into the water for a drink and looked to my right; there stood the red team's flag, guarded by a ring of fire.

"No way…" I whispered, rising to my feet. I moved closer to the flag, trying to figure out how to get to it through the flames. When I was about a yard from the flag and it's ring of fire, the sand in front of me started to move, it swirled up as if caught in some strange wind. Slowly, it took on a shape that I noticed looked oddly human before the sand fell away revealing bloody red hair and black rimmed jade eyes. I gasped. How in the _hell_ did he do that?

"Now, you didn't really think it would be that easy, did you. I'm sure the blonde idiot told you we hadn't lost in months, did he tell you why?" He asked me, his voice was low and gravelly. His words were spoken in an eerie monotone, he seemed so emotionless. All I could do was shake my head.

"No one has beaten us because they have to fight me to get the flag." He said. I backed up a step and he advanced slowly, the sand moving slightly in his wake. A sadistic, malicious grin split his face.

"How did you do that?" I asked quietly as I flipped my sais so that the blades were facing out. I slid slowly into a defensive stance, keeping my center of gravity low to the ground.

"The sand is full of blood, that's how I control it; every single grain of sand is coated with blood." He said. I shuddered.

"Well, that's…kinda cool." I said, keeping my voice low. He stopped and stared slightly at me with his eyes slightly widened. The grin fell from his face.

"So, are we gonna talk all day or are we gonna fight?" I asked him. His eyes settled into a cold glare, but there was still shock deep within his eyes, a confident smirk slid onto his lips. He drew his sword slowly, and the sound of the metal sliding against the leather of the sheath was like a scream of agony, long and high pitched, it reminded me of the horror movies I love to watch.

He ran at me with speed that no human should be able to, and I was too preoccupied with preventing his blade from cleaving me in two to realize that I had moved fast enough for my arms to be nothing but a blur. The clang of metal on metal echoed over the water becoming shrill and high pitched. I held his blade back for as long as I could, but the sand beneath my feet shifted and I fell backwards earning a deep gash in my right shoulder. My hair fell back from my face, revealing the stitches down its right side.

I landed with a thud and winced as one of the stitches ripped open and blood began to pour down the side of my face. I swept my foot at his legs before he managed to back away, and he went tumbling to the ground. I jumped up and back flipped several paces away, landing on the moss floor of the forest at the tree line. Gaara growled. He sounded like some sort of animal. I heard footsteps all around us, and soon we were surrounded by a ring of people, the blue team behind me and the red team behind him. I noticed Tsunade and Asuma standing off to one side, trying to hide in the shadows of the forest.

I ignored them all and ran at Gaara again, sais raised to slash across his chest. I slammed into a wall of sand that was hard as a rock. The coppery scent of blood filled my nostrils and the metallic tang made me feel like I was sucking on pennies. The sand slowly changed shape until it was completely wrapped around me, squeezing me like a snake. I held in a wince at the pressure on my bruised ribs. My face and shoulder were bleeding profusely, and I felt him moving the sand, creating cuts all over my body.

"Adding my blood to the myriad of blood already coating your sand, huh?" I said, my voice thick with sarcasm. I heard varied gasps go up throughout our little audience. Apparently no one talked to the great Gaara like this, until I showed up that is. I chuckled, and stopped immediately when I noticed the hush that had come over the crowd. I hadn't known I had laughed out loud. Oops. I winced as Gaara caused the sand to squeeze me tighter, and I felt the blood flowing freely from many cuts. I fell to the ground with a painful thud as the sand released me. I lie still on the ground, catching my breath and mastering the immense pain. It was just like when Oniji would beat me. Gaara turned his back to me and the red team whooped and howled in celebration of their victory.

"**Sakura, go to the flames, Sakura, they will give you power."** I heard that same strange voice and questioned my sanity, but it had been right once, why not again.

I slowly groped my way over to the flames, inch by inch across the loose sand. Finally I reached a hand into the flames, prepared for the searing pain of a burn, but instead I felt the warm sensation of sunlight as the flames danced across my skin. They flowed from my hand up my arm, across my chest and shoulders, and down my legs, healing every little cut and bruise, but I kept it from healing the cut on my face, I wanted to keep that one.

I felt the strength of the flames seeping into me, and once the flames had healed my wounds, they seemed to absorb into my skin, filling me with warmth and power and strength. I growled low in my throat, it was the same, rumbling growl I had felt building earlier, but instead of stifling it, I let it burst from my lips. The sound echoed across the water and through the trees. Silence fell.

I flicked my sais into an offensive position and charged at Gaara, catching him completely unawares and sending us both toppling to the ground. He landed sprawled on his back with his sword two feet away and with me straddling his waist. I leaned forward and placed the blade of one of my sais across his neck, the other I slid lightly over his right shoulder, giving him a cut to match the one he had given me.

"Not bad, Gaara, Son of Ares, but you don't mess with the Reaper." I hissed at him, my voice sounding like there were three of me talking in different tones. He stared at me, eyes wide in shock.

"You…cut me…it has been a long time since I've seen my own blood…" Gaara said quietly, so quiet that only I could hear him. I glanced over to the distance between us and the fire.

"Let this be a reminder of the one person that showed you that you still bleed red like everyone else, but, here, I'm not gonna scar you for life." I said, my voice returning to its normal tone. I reached my hand into the flames, and put my other on his wound. The flames leapt up my arm and down to his wound, healing it then disappearing into my skin. I stood and offered him my hand. He took it, still staring at me in shock, and allowed me to pull him to his feet.

"Haruno, thank you." He said quietly. I nodded, a small smile gracing my features. He stepped back to stand in line with his shell shocked siblings. I reached through the flames and grabbed the flag, pulling it out and raising it high above my head. The blue team began to hoot and holler and raced over to surround me in a crushing hug. I felt the sand beneath my feet shift and knew that Gaara was gone.

We had an enormous party that night, celebrating the Blue Team's first win in six months, and celebrating my first day there. Gaara and his siblings were standing over near the drink table, and I snuck away from my brother and Naruto to make my way over there. I dipped myself up some punch, tinted blue in honor of our team, and sipped idly as I glanced around at all of the teenagers.

"Hey, Pinky, that was pretty impressive earlier." I heard a female voice say from my right. I glanced over and saw that it was Temari, Gaara's older sister who had spoken.

"Thanks, Temari, but don't call me Pinky." I said. She chuckled.

"Okay, Sakura." She said. I turned to face them.

"So, how long have you known what you are? You had pretty good control." Kankuro asked.

"I found out four days ago, but I've been knocked out for three; I just woke up this morning." I said. They stared at me.

"You mean to tell me that you beat Gaara with absolutely no training? You should've been knocked out after one hit!" Kankuro spluttered. I laughed.

"I've had worse. My mother married and abusive man when I was three, for some stupid reason, and I've been beaten by him since I was five. I've been fighting with sais for five years, and fighting dirty street style for longer. See this," I said, pulling the hair that was covering my cut aside, "He gave me that five days ago, Tsunade stitched it up for me, but I don't want to heal it with the fire, I want to keep it. To remind me of what that bastard did to me and what he tried to do so that the next time I see him I can kill his ass."

"Sounds like you've had it rough." Gaara said. I glanced at him, His hair had shifted and a red kanji for love was now visible on the left side of his forehead. I thought it was a tattoo at first, but realized it was a scar.

"I could say the same to you, Gaara, who did that?" I asked pointing to the kanji. He didn't speak, just glared at me slightly.

"Fine, you don't want to talk about it, I get that. I take it the bastard's dead?" I said, holding my hands up in surrender. His eyes widened slightly. I'd take that as a yes.

"Nice, there's no denying who your dad is, that's for sure. You're a bloodthirsty bastard, but I don't know much about you two except that you've lived here for most of your lives. Don't you ever wonder what it's like outside?" I said. Gaara grunted and looked as if he didn't care one way or the other. Temari nodded slightly.

"Damn straight I do, if all of the girls are as hot as you." Kankuro said. I stared sharply at him. He quickly shut up.

"Hentai, if you say that to me again, I'll castrate you with a plastic spoon and shove what's left down your throat and leave you to bleed until your veins run dry." I growled. He whimpered. Temari clapped me on the back.

"You're almost as violent as my little brother is. I like you." She said with a smile.

"Are you kidding, Temari, she's fucking scary as hell!" Kankuro whined. I smirked.

"You're just scared because you're a wimp and afraid to lose your manhood if you piss me off. And, hello, Demigoddess of the Underworld, I have a reason to be a little hellion." I said, exasperated.

"I think we'll get along just fine." Temari said, slinging an arm across my shoulders. I smiled. Gaara nodded in my direction. I smirked at him, accepting his form of acknowledgment. At that moment, the blonde that had fought with my brother walked up.

"Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka, daughter of Aphrodite. That was a really awesome fight; I've never seen anyone do that before." She said with a smile. I smiled back.

"Thanks, Ino, you're not so bad yourself." I answered.

"Well, I'll see you around, I guess." Ino said. I nodded to her and she turned and ran off to join some of her friends who were waving her over.

"There you are Sakura! We've been looking for you!" The loud voice of Naruto yelled as he ran up to us, followed by my more subdued older brother.

"Yeah, here I am, Naruto, what do you want?" I asked. His reply was cut off by a loud explosion. Clouds had rolled in without our noticing and a brilliant flash of lightning struck. A deep voice thundered from the darkening clouds.

"Sakura Haruno, Daughter of Hades! Heed my commands! You have until the Summer Solstice to return the Lightning Bolt to me at Olympus. If you do not, your mother dies." The voice rumbled through the clouds like thunder.

"My mother is already dead, the Minotaur saw to that!" I yelled to the sky.

"Foolish girl, I sent the Minotaur to capture your mother, she is here, locked away in Olympus with me." The voice, which I now knew to be Zeus, answered. As soon as the clouds had arrived, they dispersed leaving no proof of being there other than the scorch mark from the lightning.

"Wow, Uncle Zeus is so nice." I drawled, sarcasm dripping from the words. Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Umm, yeah, sorry about my dad." Naruto said.

"Why do they even think I stole it? I've never even seen the bolt." I said, incredulous, "I didn't even know what I was until four days ago."

"Sakura!" I heard my name yelled across the clearing. Asuma galloped over and halted in front of us.

"Asuma-sensei, I have to go. I have to tell them that I don't have the bolt, that I've never even seen it. Then they'll let mom live." I said before he could speak.

"No Sakura, if you do that, they'll kill you and your mother, and then they'll start a war that could very well end the world as we know it." Asuma said, "You must stay here and train, we have three weeks until the Solstice, if you learn fighting like you learned in my class, you'll be ready."

"But, Asuma-sensei..."I began.

"But nothing, you will do as I say, do you understand?" Asuma cut me off. I glared ruefully at him, a scowl twisting my features.

"Fine." I growled. He stared hard at me for a moment, trying to find a lie, but I knew he wouldn't find anything, I was well practiced. I glared angrily at his retreating back; if looks could kill he would've burst into flames and burned to death where he stood.

"I'll see you guys later." I growled as I stalked off in the direction of my cottage in the woods. It was a lie, I knew, I had made up my mind the moment I heard my mom was alive I was going to search all the way to the depths of Hades to find that bolt if I had to. A plan was already forming in my mind. I would grab my bag and a few essential items and be gone before sunrise. At least, I thought I would, but things never do turn out how we plan them, do they.

**As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do.**

**~Shadow Wolf (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another update, I'm glad that so many people like this story. Thank you for all of the reviews that you've left.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters or ideas associated with it. I also do not own the Greek pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, obviously, and I do not own the Percy Jackson series from which the inspiration for this story was drawn.**

**Enjoy the story and please review with constructive criticism or helpful ideas to stave off any possibility of writer's block.**

Into the Depths of Hades

A Naruto Fanfic by xXShadow-Wolf13Xx (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)

Chapter Three

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><p>I returned swiftly to my cottage, and immediately set to work packing my backpack with some supplies I might need. Luckily, I had a spare outfit in my backpack so I wouldn't have to wear the armor everywhere. I pulled off the heavy armor and my tank top, before putting the leather armor top back on, it was surprisingly light weight, and it would go well with the pants I was going to wear. I slid off my shoes, shorts and underwear, replacing them with a pair of clean black underwear and a pair of ripped and torn baggy black jeans with blood red splatters on them. I belted them low on my hips with the same black and red studded belt with the scythe belt buckle that I had already been wearing. I put my phone, wallet, and iPod in my pockets. I put my black converse back on, making sure to lace the cherry red laces tightly.<p>

I walked into the bathroom and unbraided my hair to brush it out before re-braiding it so that it would stay out of the way. My fringe still angled, pin straight, in front of the right side of my face, so no one could see the gash. I freshened up my thick black eyeliner and brushed my teeth. I ran Chap Stick over my lips and put on some deodorant before placing everything but my dirty clothes back into my black and pink Fox backpack. I pulled the sword pen out of my pocket and looked at it disdainfully. Asuma made me give the sais that I had borrowed back, so I began to search the house for anything I could use as a weapon.

I passed up the katana and the bident, and searched the rest of the house. Finally, I went back into my bedroom and threw my bag onto my bed. I searched through all of the drawers in the dresser to no avail, but did notice a door that was hidden when the room was viewed from the doorway. I opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a large walk in closet. There was a black box that said my name in red on the floor of the closet near the back wall. I knelt down in front of it and lifted the lid. I gasped. There, resting on red velvet was a pair of gleaming, lethal silver sais, the handles were wrapped with black and cherry red leather, the pommels were brilliant silver skulls with ruby eyes. The guards were also decorated with ruby eyed skulls. They were beautiful and deadly. There was a small white card in the bottom right corner of the box near the point of one of the sais. I picked it up and read it. The writing was an elegant yet severe script and it read, "To my darling daughter, use them well, Dad." I smiled.

"Thanks, Dad." I whispered softly. I lifted the sais from the box and noticed that there was a leather sheath and belt for each of them. I placed the sais in their sheaths and wrapped the belts around my waist, forming and 'X' on my hips. I walked out of the closet, shutting the door behind me, and grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. I left the room and the cottage after making sure I had everything. The clearing was empty and quiet; everyone was sleeping, at least, mostly everyone.

"How did I know you were going to do this, Reaper?" I heard Tsunade's exasperated voice behind me.

"Because, you've known me for years," I replied, "you don't have to come with me, you know, and I'm not asking you to."

"But you know I'm going to come whether you like it or not, I'm your protector, I have to come." She said. I sighed.

"Why don't the rest of you come out and tell me what you want?" I asked, tired of waiting for them all to show whenever they felt like it.

"I'm coming with you, believe it! My dad's the one who took your mom, so I'm coming with you." Naruto said, jumping out from behind a building. I saw sand swirl and Gaara was standing in front of me, a thoughtful look on his face. Temari and Kankuro jumped down from the roof of the building Naruto had been hiding behind. Kakashi walked lazily towards me, backpack hanging from one shoulder.

"I want to see what it's like out there, so we're coming with you, besides, you could use the help." Temari said, Gaara and Kankuro nodded in agreement.

"You're my sister, and she's my mom, no shit I'm coming." Kakashi said, straight and to the point, just like I would've said it.

"Well, I guess there's no stopping you guys so why the hell not." I sighed.

"So, where are we going?" Naruto asked. I felt like slapping myself in the face.

"We're going to look for Zeus' Lightning Bolt, so I can save my mom." I said, "I'm going to go all the way to Hades if I have to."

"So, where are we going to start?" He asked.

"I know someone who can help us out." Temari said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Shikamaru, my boyfriend and his half siblings Hinata and Neji," Temari said, "they're Athena's kids." I nodded and followed her towards their house. It was a simple stone cabin, like mine, but it was fashioned of brown stone, not slate. It was a lot more open than my cabin too, the windows were thrown wide open and so was the door, the sounds of a video game drifted from the house. Temari lead us into the house where we were greeted by the sight of several teens gathered around watching two, one with short spiky brown hair and a dog by his feet and the other with short black hair that resembled a chicken's ass, playing Halo 3. They barely seemed to notice our presence at all. Temari rolled her eyes. She whistled loudly, causing everyone to whip their heads around.

"Temari, what are you doing here?" asked a teen with brown hair pulled up in a ponytail that looked like a pineapple.

"We need some help." She said, gesturing to the rest of us. The black haired boy who was playing the game fixed his cold obsidian stare on me. I forced back an angered growl at the look he was giving me; it was the same look my stepfather gave my mother, like he was undressing me with his eyes.

"Well, I don't think we've met, who are you?" He asked, the others looked at me.

"I'm Sakura, daughter of Hades." I said, some of their eyes widened.

"You're the girl that beat Gaara aren't you?" said a girl with her brown hair up in two buns atop her head. I nodded.

"I'm Ten Ten, Daughter of Artemis." the girl said. I smiled at her.

"I'm Shikamaru, Son of Athena." Said the pineapple headed kid. He sounded bored.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Son of Hephaestus." said the kid that had been staring at me.

"I'm Neji, Son of Athena." Said a boy with pale, pupil-less eyes and long coffee brown hair, he almost looked like a girl.

"I-I'm Hinata, Daughter of Athena." said a girl with short, bluish black hair and the same pale, pupil-less eyes that Neji had.

"I'm Kiba, Son of Artemis, and this is Akamaru." The kid with the spiky brown hair said, pointing to the dog by his feet.

"Hey Sakura." Ino smiled at me and waved. I smiled back.

"Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, can we get back to us needing help?" Temari asked, obviously irritated. I smirked.

"Tch, troublesome woman, what do you need?" Shikamaru sighed.

"I need to see my Father, to see if he knows where the Bolt is and, if not, to see if he'll convince Zeus that I don't know where the hell it is and to let my mom go." I said.

"Are all of you going with her?" Shikamaru asked with raised eyebrows. They all nodded.

"Okay, first, you'll have to find Persephone's Pearls so that you have a way out of the Underworld once you've made it there, and then you'll need to go to the Doorway to the Underworld. I have a map that will get you there." Shikamaru said, leading us to a small office like room with bookshelves full to the brim lining every wall. He pulled and old looking scroll of parchment from one of the shelves and unrolled it on a cherry wood desk. He pointed to a spot of writing that had appeared on the map as he unraveled it.

"There are seven pearls currently on the continent. This is the location of the first one; the next will appear once you have this one. Then when you have them all, the location of the entryway will appear." He said, "This won't be an easy journey, and how are you even going to do it, Asuma-sensei forbid it."

"You don't know me very well." I said with a smirk. I felt eyes on me and turned to glare at Sasuke, he had followed us into the study.

"Here, take this, it's my best shield, my dad made it for me a few weeks ago, he said it's among his best work." He threw a large, round shield of black metal with a red dragon engraved into it, I noticed that it matched my armor.

"Thanks." I said begrudgingly. I hated that I had to show gratitude to a snake like him.

"I don't like him." I hissed to Temari. She chuckled under her breath.

"No one really does, except Ino, but she only thinks he's hot. He sort of forced his way into their group and won't leave them alone. Everyone says he's bitter because his older brother, Itachi made it to full God status. Others say it's because he's been an orphan since he was six. I think it's both." She whispered back. I shook my head.

"Well," I said after a pause, "If everyone has everything they need, we should leave now, while the teachers and protectors are sleeping so that we have a better chance of making it to the city before dawn." The other nodded their approval.

"Then let's go. Thanks for your help Shikamaru." I said as I turned to leave.

"No problem and good luck." He called after us as we left the cottage and made for the arch in the forest.

"So, where exactly is the first pearl?" I asked as we crossed under the arch. Temari pulled out the map to look.

"It says it's in Em's Statue Shop in Oto." Temari said.

"How are we going to get to Oto from here?" Naruto whined. I sighed.

"How far is the highway from here?" I asked.

"Not far, why?" Temari replied.

"Hey Tsunade, about how far down the road was that diner we passed on the way here?" I asked. She looked at me warily.

"About a mile and a half, please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." She replied.

"You know me too well, Tsunade, of course I'm thinking that. Living with Oniji taught me very little good, but this is one talent that I should really thank him for." I replied.

"Why do I feel like I missed something?" Naruto said looking between me and Tsunade.

"Just forget about it, all you need to know is I'll take care of our transportation, follow me." I said. Tsunade sighed, but didn't object as I led us out of the forest and onto the highway. We walked for half an hour until we stopped in front of an old time looking diner. A neon sign lit up the night in bright red. There were many cars, trucks, and motorcycles parked out front, despite the late hour. I scanned the cars, looking for one big enough to fit all of us in. My eyes landed on a cherry red Hummer H2 with black flames racing down the sides and a large, blood red eyed skull surrounded by black flames adorned the hood. I smiled. It was perfect. It was also parked in a prime location; it could only be seen from the forest, not the diner or the highway. I walked quickly and quietly over to it and crouched down, the others followed me.

"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"You'll see." I replied. I stood and pulled one of my sais from its sheath then went to work on the car door. I slid the tip into the lock and moved it around, waiting for the tell tale click of the lock flicking open. After a few seconds, the lock snicked open and I opened the door, instead of opening normally, the door slid up. It had vertical doors, I smiled. I sheathed my sai and slid into the drivers' seat I flicked the other doors unlocked.

"Get in guys." I commanded before shutting the door. I pulled down the visor and was pleased when a set of keys fell into my lap. I glanced over as the passenger door open and held back a smile as Gaara climbed in.

"Everyone in?" I asked as I heard the other doors shut. I checked the rear view mirror and saw that everyone was in. I slid the key into the ignition and revved the engine, smiling as it purred into life.

"I love that sound." I said wistfully.

"I'm glad you're happy Reaper. What is it with you and hating low profiles so much? I mean grand theft auto, really?" Tsunade ranted from the back seat as I pulled out of the parking lot and sped off down the highway. I laughed.

"Do you even have a drivers' license?" Temari laughed from the backseat as I sped down the road, we had passed the limits of the forest by that time, and were well on our way to mist country just south of our destination.

"No, I have a permit, but no license." I replied through a laugh of my own. "But I doubt any of you have licenses."

"I guess you're right, let's hope we don't get pulled over." Temari answered.

"God it's too quiet in here." I said after a few minutes of silence thick enough to be sliced with a knife. I flipped on the radio and quickly turned the sound to mute when rap blared from the speakers. I changed the channels until I found my favorite station and was pleased to hear 'Shake It' by Dot Dot Curve blaring from the speakers. I saw Gaara smirk from the corner of my eye.

"Why, Reaper, must you always play that crap? I can't even understand the words!" Tsunade complained from the back.

"I can." Gaara and I said simultaneously. Immediately all talking ceased in a stunned silence, Gaara and I stared at each other. I quickly returned my attention to the road, ignoring the lingering silence in the back seat.

"Holy shit!" I heard Kankuro mutter from the back. I ignored him.

"Shut up, dumbass." Gaara hissed at him. The rest of the drive was quiet, at least until we drove into a small town just inside the limits of Mist Country. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the sky was a pale grey blue, covered with clouds and a fine mist was falling. Mist Country, true to its name, rarely saw a day without some sort of mist or rain.

"Sakura-chan, I'm hungry!" Naruto whined from the back. I sighed when my stomach growled hungrily.

"I am too, Naruto, we'll stop soon, we have three weeks until the solstice, and I really want to make it to Oto so we have plenty of time to spare in getting to Olympus." I said holding in a yawn. We drove for maybe an hour more when we reached a larger city. I pulled in at a hotel and told them to wait in the truck while I got us a large room for the night. I then returned to the Hummer and drove to the nearest restaurant. After a quick meal, we drove back to the hotel.

"Gods I'm so tired." Tsunade yawned as we walked into the room. It was quite large with four separate bedrooms, each with two beds in them.

"Me too." I replied sleepily. I wasn't bothered by the fact that it was nearly eight in the morning, and neither were they. We all separated into rooms to sleep. Temari and Tsunade took one room; Kankuro took another, no one wanted to sleep in the same room as him. Kakashi and Naruto took a room, and Gaara and I ended up with the last room. We walked in and froze as we took in the room. There was only one large bed taking up most of the wall.

"Each room was supposed to have two beds, why is there only one?" I said. Gaara shrugged.

"Hn, I don't sleep anyway." Gaara said monotonously. He walked over and leaned against the windowsill on the wall adjacent to the bed. I shook my head.

"I'm dead on my feet, so I really don't care one way or the other. But if you happen to get tired of standing there, I don't care if you sit on the bed, I'll be asleep until tonight easily." I said. He grunted and I rolled my eyes. Guys were always like that. I dropped my bag next to the bed and pulled back the blankets, snuggling deep within them for warmth. I was dimly aware of the bed next to me sinking as someone laid down next to me before I was sucked into the darkness of unconsciousness.

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><p><strong>As always, review with any comments, questions, or suggestions. And, I could always use characters, so if you would like to be in the story, shoot me a message with an idea and I'll see what I can do.<strong>

**~Shadow Wolf (Formerly known as xXPsychoXx)**


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